Media

Myles Turner pitches his strengths when asked if Lakers should deal 1st-round picks for him and Buddy Hield

Published by
Jason Simpson

Vibes are good in Southern California on Monday morning, as the Los Angeles Lakers earned their first win of the season on Sunday night.

It took six games, but L.A. is now in the win column and sports a 1-5 record.

While the Lakers are seemingly starting to figure out ways to make their current roster work as well as it possibly can, they will likely still need to bring in some outside talent if they want to really contend this season.

Of course, the idea of the Lakers making a deal for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield of the Indiana Pacers is something that’s been kicked around a lot.

About a month ago, a report indicated that the Pacers would trade both players to Los Angeles if the Lakers were to include two unprotected first-round picks. Russell Westbrook would likely have to be included in such a deal.

In a new development, Turner spoke to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski about the idea of being traded to the Lakers.

Turner was asked an interesting question: If he were in L.A.’s position, would he trade the picks and get the deal done with Indiana?

“I think personally, when you look at this business of the league and knowing the landscape of the league, you have to go off your future, right?” he started. “And we all know picks are so valuable in this league, and someone like myself, I’m heading into the last year of my deal, and you want to make sure you’re getting a return for your assets, right? So, if I’m the Lakers, I take a very hard look at this with the position that you’re in. I know what I can provide for a team — my leadership, my shot-blocking, my 3-point ability and just my ability to make plays out there on the floor. … But as far as pulling the trigger, I get paid to shoot, not to make these calls. So, I couldn’t answer that.”

It’s a very thoughtful response from Turner. He certainly seems to know his value, but he’s also aware of all of the factors that go into a deal.

Turner and Hield would be extremely solid additions for the Lakers.

Although he has only appeared in two games, Turner has averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and a whopping 4.5 blocks per game this season. While he has shot just 38.1 percent from the field, he has knocked down a solid 37.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

For his career, he’s a 48.8 percent shooter from the field and 34.9 percent shooter from deep. His ability to stretch the floor would do wonders for the Lakers.

Hield also knows a thing or two about stretching the floor. He’s a great shooter and would certainly help Los Angeles improve in that department.

The 29-year-old is averaging 17.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from 3-point range.

Only time will tell if the Lakers end up acquiring Turner and Hield at some point in the near future.

Jason Simpson

Jason is excited about the LeBron James era of Lakers basketball and hopes that the end result will be multiple championships.

Published by
Jason Simpson

Recent Posts

5-time NBA champion says ‘no real fans care’ about Lakers’ success in NBA Cup

The Los Angeles Lakers have started their NBA Cup schedule off on the right foot…

November 21, 2024

LeBron makes stunning announcement as he takes step back on social media

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James uploaded a screenshot of a social media post on…

November 20, 2024

Private message revealed that Austin Reaves sent Dalton Knecht before they knew they’d be teammates

Los Angeles Lakers players Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht were familiar with one another before…

November 20, 2024

Iman Shumpert says LeBron ruined today’s game by forming superteams

The proliferation of superteams in the NBA arguably became normalized once LeBron James teamed up…

November 19, 2024

Shaq says he’ll fight Dwight Howard under certain conditions

Dwight Howard has a compelling case to one day be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial…

November 18, 2024

Report: J.J. Redick admires Serbian coaching, wants to send sons to go to basketball camp there

There are several productive players in the NBA right now who grew up in the…

November 18, 2024